Merry Christmas, Sakura
by fdty
Summary: TWO-SHOT: SASUSAKU: Sakura returns from a long mission, and learns Sasuke's biggest secret.
1. Chapter 1

Sakura walked into the village. Well, more like limped and wavered into the village. She had just come back from a mission. She had to go and act as a spy for the village to see what a village in another country that was supposed to be an ally of the Leaf, but Tsunade had her doubts. When Sakura was assigned the on-man mission two and a half years ago, she didn't question Tsunade's thinking, because she had always been right before when it came to allies and enemies. She had told the young kunoichi that she would only have to stay there for a few months at the most, but the leader of the village had caught on and decided to hold her captive. They had beat her with every kind of weapon you can imagine— kunai; shurikan; whips; barbed wire that they would wrap around her neck. When they weren't beating her, they had her hand tied behind her back and hung her by her wrists-the pain for her was unbearable.

One day, they were late in their scheduled torture for her, so she took the risky chance and ran for it. She had now been on the run for at least two weeks, but now, as she entered Konoha, she was down to a limped kind of slow walk. Sakura had absolutely no chakra left in her body, but just enough to keep her going to the Hokage tower- she had to report to Tsunade before she did anything else. Then she realized something— it was the day before Christmas. She stopped walking for a moment to think about how her friends were doing. She looked down at herself. Her clothes were ripped and badly torn in a variety of places. There were cuts, bruises, scars, and deep gashes all over her body. She honestly wasn't in the mood to have them see her and gawk in horror at her injuries. She gathered up just enough chakra to transport herself directly to the Hokage Tower.

She found herself in a long hallway that led to Tsunade's public room where missions were assigned. 'I guess my focus is off today'. Sakura thought. She couldn't deny it, though. With all of the blood she had lost in the past week, there was no word to descry how dizzy and light headed she was from the loss of blood. Sakura looked ahead of her. Her vision blurred and she was finally starting to see double. She trudged on, though. She had come this far without too much of these side effects, she wasn't about to pass out again, not when she was so close to help.  
Ten minutes later, Sakura was standing outside the door that led into the Hokage's public study/conference room. She tugged on the handle. It wouldn't budge. She pulled on it with all of the strength that she could muster. The door opened. Sakura's head was downcast, too tired to hold it up any more. She took each step slowly, leaving a small trail of blood behind her from the moment she arrived in the building. Tsunade looked up.

"Who the heck is insane enough to be walking around in these temper—" she gasped.

"Sakura!" The old woman stood up and rushed over to the young ninja. Sakura finally collapsed from total exhaustion. She caught Sakura in her arms and looked at her bloody body.

"Shizune!" she called. Her assistant rushed into the room and saw the boy in Tsunade's arms, and she recognized it immediately. "Shizune, get all of the other ninja that were close to Sakura. Quickly!" she yelled. Shizune nodded and rushed out of the room to call up all of Sakura's friends. Sakura's parents had died in war, so Sakura didn't have any real family with her. Tsunade put Sakura's body on a clear desk after putting a thick cloth on it to soak up any blood. She grabbed her medical tools, ready to get this girl healed before it was too late. Just as she was about to start the procedure, everyone came rushing into the room in this order: Naruto; Ino; Lee; Hinata; Neji; Shikamaru; Tenten; Kiba, and then Sasuke. Everyone stood there in the doorway, looking at the site before them. Tsunade motioned for them to come in. Slowly, they entered the room and gathered around the table, which Tsunade had put in the center of the room.

"I'm going to try everything I can to save her before the worst can happen, but I am going to need you guys to hole her down. She may not have any strength left in her, but even the lightest of movements can ruin everything. Everyone took their places around her, gently holding her down, trying their best not to hurt her injuries- there were so many of them. Kiba and Neji had one leg, with Lee and Shikamaru on the other. Naruto had one side of her waist, Tenten the other side. Hinata was up by Sakura's shoulders. Ino and Sasuke had to hold down her arms. Tsunade started the surgery by stopping to bleeding, then going to any broken bones, which she had plenty of those, then to all of the cuts and gashes. This all took a good 45 minutes.

During the whole time, Sasuke had one hand on her upper arm, and the other was holding her hand through the whole thing. As he held her cold hand, he rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand in a circular motion. He wasn't sure if she could feel it or not, but it not only was to calm her, but him, too. He would never admit it to anyone, but he missed her so much. When he heard from people in the council that she probably wouldn't be coming back because of how long she had been gone. When he heard the news, she was always his last thought before he went to sleep. In the past two New Years Eve parties, when he saw everyone kiss someone as the new year rolled in, he always wished it was Sakura that he would be kissing. He would not kiss any other girl, no matter what. In the summertime, whenever he wasn't raining, he would sit under the large cherry blossom trees and his thoughts would stay fixed on her. He never thought he would admit it before she left, but, he loved her—more than anything in the world.

"Okay, everyone. The surgery is over. Now, I'm going to need you guys to leave so she can get some rest. I just needed you guys here so that you knew that she was okay. I will call you back when she wakes up," Tsunade said. She started to move them out of the room. As everyone else was being filed out of the large room, Sasuke stayed by Sakura's side, still holding her hand. "Sasuke, did you hear me? I said that you need to leave for a while."

"Tsunade, do you mind if I…just stay here, with her?" he asked her. The last two words in his question were a whisper. Tsunade was about to protest and tell him to leave, but then she saw the look in his eyes: there was a mix of sadness and deep, passionate love. The Hokage smiled softly at the boy. She had a better idea for him.

"How about this. You take Sakura to your house, and spend all of Christmas day with her tomorrow. I trust you will keep an eye on her and take good care of her?" she said with a smirk on her

face.

Sasuke looked at her for a moment, wondering if she really meant what she head just said. When she nodded, he gave the smallest smile. He turned back to Sakura, gently, and carefully, he picked her up in his arms. Once he had a good grip on her, the two disappeared in a gust of wind and leaves.

Sasuke arrived at the Uchiha estate, one of the largest mansions in the village. They were standing in the main room of the house (if someone could really call it a house). It was a large room with black marble floors with an abstract design of different shades of grays and whites. The walls were light beige. Above the front door was a large, circular stain-glass window that was divided into eight sections. There was a hallway straight ahead from the door that leads to a large dining room. Above the entrance to the hallway was spiraling staircases that lead to the upstairs, where all of the bedrooms and studies were, including a small library.

Sasuke looked down at Sakura's sleeping form. His gaze rested on her peaceful face. Along with the look of peace on her soft face, Sasuke could see the pain on her face from the surgery. He didn't want to see it, so he put his attention on carrying her up to the bedrooms. He desperately wanted to have her in the same be as him, to really make sure that she was safe from any harm, but he didn't want her to wake up, in some guys arms, and have to deal with all of the confusion and have her think that he was a pervert. So he took her to a room that he decorated himself. The door on the outside in the hall was a dull wood door. But once you open the door, the first thing you notice was that the walls were a pearl with painted cherry blossom trees on them. The trees were surrounded by enlarged cherry blossom petals that were painted in different shades of pink. He floors were a polished wood. He felt that when she woke up here, she wouldn't feel so bad. Well, that was what hoped. He laid her down on the large bed on the right side of the room that was set against the wall. As he laid her down, he thought that she might get a little cod, so he moved her body so that she was under the soft white sheets. The bed sheets were a light pink camouflage design. Sasuke looked down at her sleeping form again. He couldn't help but caress her cheek lightly with his finger. It was so soft, even after all of the torture she had been through for so long. He looked at the clock in the room: it was already 9:00 P.M. Sasuke reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind him, and walked down to the kitchen. As he walked through the door, he noticed that there was mistletoe hanging above him.

'Naruto' he thought. 'He must have secretly hung it up the last time he and the others were here.'

Sasuke walked further into the kitchen and made himself a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream on it. As he sipped his drink, he heard movement from upstairs.

'Sakura.' he thought.

Sakura woke up, but kept her eyes closed. She felt blankets on top of her. They were so soft and warming. She didn't remember the sheets at the village hospital feeling so good. So then where was she? Sakura slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in a room with pretty white walls and they had pink Sakura trees painted on them. She then noticed that the only colors in the entire room were white, different shades of pink, and the wooden floors. She stood up, quite shakily, and walked over to the door. She opened the door, and found that she had more strength than she did before. Then she looked down at her body. There were no cuts, no gashes, no bruises, only a few faint scars from her injuries that she knew would disappear quickly.  
Sakura looked both ways down the long hallway, saw no end to either side, and decided to go to her right. After walking down the hall, it turned a sharp turn to the right. She looked down the hall. There were no more doors, or openings to other hallways. It was just a long hallway with pictures on both sides of the hall. She walked slowly down the newly discovered part of the unfamiliar place. There were pictures of a family. And after seeing a few of the pictures of this family, she noticed that is was an Uchiha family. She looked at the youngest person in the pictures. Immediately she recognized who it was.

"Sasuke."

As she went further down the hall, the pictures changed from being pictures of his family to being pictures of team seven, and other ninja that were friends of Sasuke's. There was one of some

girl punching Lee for hitting on her, and one of Kakashi getting his mask pulled off by Naruto. Then Sakura came to the near end of the long hallway of pictures. Then she noticed another thing. The final 20 or so pictures were of Sakura. But the thing was, they weren't taken by a camera. They were painted, and they looked so real. A small 'wow' escaped from her lips.

"Do you like them?"

Sakura turned around so quickly, that she lost her balance and started falling to the ground. She closed her eye, waiting for the impact, but it never came. She opened her eye to see someone looking down at her with dark, onyx eyes. Sakura squinted up at the man who caught her.

"Sasuke? Is it really you?" she asked quietly. Sasuke looked at her and smiled.

"Welcome home, Sakura." Sakura's eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Sasuke quickly put his arms around her waist and held her as close to him as possible without hurting her. This gesture took Sakura by surprise.

"Wait, you're hugging me back?" she wondered aloud. Sasuke pulled back and looked her in the eyes. It was then that Sakura noticed how close their bodies were. She blushed deeply and as she started to make some space between them, Sasuke picked her up as he did before. As he was about to carry her down the hall to take downstairs, she stopped him.

"Wait," she said. "Why do you have all of these pictures of just me? And… who painted them for you? Because I know that they aren't from a camera and—" she doubled over from sudden pain, and fell out of Sasuke's arms. Sakura lay on the ground, clenching her stomach in pain. Sasuke knelt down beside her.

"Hey, Sakura, what's wrong? Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Sakura slowly stood up from where she was.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just so hungry that it hurts. Those village people didn't feed e too much a week, and I have not eaten anything since I busted myself out of there."

"Well, how about you come downstairs and I get you something good to eat. How does that sound?" Sakura looked up at him and smiled.

As they were walking through the halls, Sakura gazed at this new Sasuke. He had gotten a little taller since she left for the mission. His skin was only the slightest bit darker, but it was almost too hard to tell even if you looked hard enough. His hair was about an inch longer, but she was okay with that. Sasuke also had a bit more of a muscular structure to him. But there was one thing that really caught her attention.

His eyes.

The look in his eye wasn't as she had remembered it. They didn't give off this, cold, icy stare. Well, they were still a bit cold, but there was some warmth to them. Or maybe she was just thinking there was something there because she was unconsciously comparing his star to that of the people who abused her.

"Is there a reason why you are staring at me like that?" he asked. Sakura looked away, embarrassed that he caught her.

"Sorry, it's just…you look a little different, that's all." Sasuke smiled as he continued to walk, starting his way down the stairs.

"Well, you look a little different, too," he said softly. As they entered the kitchen, Sasuke made Sakura a hot meal (you guys are creative, you think of it!). He watched as she ate the food he had made for her. He got the odd feeling that she didn't like. Apparently it had showed on his face.

"Relax, Sasuke, your cooking is fine. I'm just tired, that's all. Hey, do you know what the date is?" she asked politely.

"Yeah, it is Christmas Eve," he said emotionlessly. All of a sudden, all of the lights in the house went out. Sakura let out a yelp of surprise. Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at her a little bit.

"What's so funny?" she asked. Sasuke just gave her his usual grunt and walked around, looking for the flashlight. 'I know I left it around here somewhere…..' he thought. He accidently

bumped into her, making her give out a short scream. That was when Sasuke found the flashlight and turned it on to find that sakura had jumped at least half way across the kitchen.

"What was that for, huh? You really scared me there, Sasuke!" she watched as Sasuke smirked at her. Then his smirk faded as quickly as it came.

"Um, sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to harm you, or anything. Why did you get so freaked, though?" he asked her.

"Back when I was being held captive and tortured, that was how I knew that they were going to give me a really harsh beating….by turning to the lights out and running into me from behind." She whispered. Sasuke looked at her for a moment, and she could almost swear that he saw sadness in his black eyes. But when she looked again, his face was downcast, unreadable. Sakura

didn't know what to make of it, so she shrugged it off. The two then walked to the common room in the mansion, where Sasuke started a fire in the large fireplace. After a few minutes of messing with it, he got the fire to be big enough to greatly illuminate the entire room. Sasuke walked over and sat by Sakura on the couch. There was an awkward silence between the two.

"You still haven't answered my question from earlier, you know. About the paintings of me?" she said.

"Well, first off, I didn't have someone paint those for me…I painted them myself," he said, embarrassed.

"Okay, but why would you paint pictures of me?" Sasuke sighed. He stood up and walked a few steps away from her, facing the opposite wall. He was really nervous in this subject.

"I was . . . afraid." Sakura looked at him with a curious look, though he couldn't see it.

"Afraid? Of what?" she questioned. Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and had his head bent down. He watched for a moment as the light from the fire flickered on the wall in front of him.

"I was afraid I wasn't going to see you again, so I painted some pictures of you as not to forget how you looked," he whispered.

"Why would you think that you wouldn't see me again?" Sakura was so confused at this point. Sasuke huffed out some breath, and turned his gaze back towards the ground.

"You didn't hear them. You didn't hear what everyone was saying while you were away."

"What were they saying, Sasuke?"

Sasuke remained silent for a few minutes before answering.

" . . . Everyone was saying that you were dead . . ." he said more quietly than before.

"What?" Sakura didn't understand why he would care so much about if she were alive or not.

"You don't know what it was like to hear them say such things. Every time I heard something like that come out of someone's mouth, I just was wanted to punch them out and tell them to shut up, but that would reveal the biggest secret I have ever kept."

"And what would that be?" Sakura had a feeling of what was coming next.

"Sakura…………. When I saw you in the Hokage's office earlier today, I was so happy that you were alive. Sakura…………….. I think, no, I KNOW I love you. When the surgery was over, I immediately wanted to wake you up and kiss you, just to show how much I care and how much I have missed you over the past few years. But I wasn't sure if you loved me back after all this time." Sakura was so shocked. Though she had seen it coming, it sent her heart soaring to cloud nine. All this time, she thought he hated her, but it turned out to be the total opposite.

'Wait, what if this is all some holiday joke? What if he is just messing with my mind?! Is it possible that he really feels this way about me…….. ?' she thought.

"Prove it."

Sasuke looked at her with almost no emotion on his face. And for what little emotion there was, she didn't recognize it. He walked over to her. Sasuke looked at Sakura in the eyes and put one hand in his back pocket. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out mistletoe. Sakura looked at the small holiday symbol and gasped. He put the mistletoe above both of their heads, and smirked.

"Merry Christmas, Sakura," he whispered. Sasuke brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly. Sakura was shocked, she pulled away.

"What are you doing?" she questioned. Sasuke looked at her. 'Is she seriously asking that question?' he thought.

"I'm doing just what you told me to do. Proving my love," he said, mater-of-factly. "Do you mind if I continue?" he asked, just a bit annoyed. Sakura gave him a smile/smirk.

"No, you're done. Now, it's MY turn." Sakura leaned in and kissed him back, but with a little bit more passion. Sasuke dropped the mistletoe and wrapped his arms around her waist, while she put her arms around his neck. After a few minutes, Sasuke pulled back, a sweet smile on his face. 'He hasn't smiled for over eight years,' Sakura thought. He brought her into an embrace and

she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?" he responded.

"I-I love you," she whispered. Sasuke pulled back enough to look her full in the face. There was no longer a smile on his face, but there was definitely a smile in his eyes; they gleamed with it.

"I'm glad!" he said. Sakura noticed how happy he sounded. All of a sudden, the power came back on, but the lights in the room remained off, still having the fire illuminate everything. The radio turned itself on from the sudden power boost, and there was Christmas music playing. They recognized the current song immediately. It was a pop version of "Let it Snow," by an unknown artist.

'_Oh, the fire is slowly dying  
_

_And my dear, we're still goodbyeing  
_

_But as long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!'  
_

Sasuke walked over to the radio and turned it off, right when a large clock in the town struck midnight. (they only do that on certain days) Sasuke walked over to Sakura and picked her up bridal style.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Hn. You must be exhausted from earlier. It's midnight, and you should be getting some sleep," he answered. There was a small smirk on his face. He didn't take her to the room he put her in before, he took the two of them to his room. Sasuke laid Sakura on the bed, and then lay down beside her. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, he gave her one final kiss for the night. This only made Sakura snuggle into his embrace.

"Merry Christmas, Sakura." He said again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just so you all know, i wrote this about a year ago.**

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke woke up, but didn't open his eyes. He was confused for a moment because he felt a warm presence next to him in his arms. As he opened his eyes, everything that happened from the previous night started swimming into his mind. Especially the kiss they shared. His FIRST kiss. Now that his eyes were fully open, he could see Sakura. She was snuggled into him, with his arms wrapped around her waist. She had her arms brought up to her chest, and her head was on Sasuke's chest. Her pink hair was strewn across the side of her face, and Sasuke lightly brushed it back. It was then that he noticed how long her hair had gotten while she was gone. It was down to about mid-back. The uneven layers from when she had chopped it off years ago made it look so much better because they looked natural. He liked that look on her. Sasuke looked at the expression on her face. There was a small, peaceful smile on her lips. The sight made Sasuke smirk, but it soon turned into a smile as well. He softly ran his hand along the well-formed side of her body. He could easily tell that she had developed strong muscles in her legs and stomach. He figured it was from trying not to get beat up every day by the people who dealt with her. The slow and steady motion going along the side of her body made Sakura slowly wake up. Once she adjusted to the morning rays of golden sunlight shining through the open window at the far end of the room, she then noticed Sasuke and how close he was. Well, Sakura being Sakura, she was obviously blushing. Sasuke smirked again.

"I take it that this is the first time you've slept with a guy before?" he said lightly.

"Um, yeah. This would be the first that I have slept with a guy."

"That's okay; it is the same for me, too." Sakura gave him a stern, but playful look.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You're either saying that this is your first time sleeping with a GUY, and I am the GUY. Or you are telling me that this is your first time sleeping with a girl, and that we are in the same situation at the moment. Which is it going to be? And it had better be the second one!" she warned him. There was a big smirk on her face. Sasuke was taken aback by her sly comment.

"Gees, whatever happened to the shy Sakura who DIDN'T say such things? And don't worry; it's definitely the second one," he said. Sakura chuckled apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I guess I've created myself a bit of a foul mouth towards those merciless people, and I guess the attitude sort of…….stuck!" The two lay in bed for a few moments, enjoying the other's presence. Sasuke could feel Sakura hot breath on the crook of his neck, and it was making his face go a light shade of crimson. He had to put his head up in a way so that Sakura didn't see it.

"So, what do you want to do today? Anything you want, it is your choice," he said. Sakura thought silently to herself.

"Does Ino still have her annual holiday parties? Those were always so fun!"

"No, she isn't doing that this year. Pick something else."

"Well, then, what all is there to do? I've been gone for a while, so I am not so sure on what there is to do in the village." Sasuke looked at her finally.

"Sakura, you just got back from a brutal imprisonment. And now you want to be on the go! Don't you want to just…? I don't know— relax all day?"

"You sound like Shikamaru," She said. Before Sasuke could reply, the phone rand from his dresser. Sasuke heaved a sigh, and got up to answer it.

"Hello?" he said groggily. Immediately, he had to pull the phone away from his ear because the person on the other line was yelling. "Argh…hello, Ino……yeah, she's here, why... Oh, you are? I thought you weren't doing that kind of thing anymore. Hold on, let me ask her. Sakura," he called. Sakura turned her head and looked at him with curiosity in her eyes.

"Yes?" she replied. Sasuke looked somewhat defeated.

"Do you….want to go to Ino's Christmas party later tonight?" he asked quietly, his eye darting off to the side. Sakura's eyes widened a little.

"May I talk to Ino for a moment?" she asked politely. Sasuke handed her the phone when she was up. As the girls were chatting, Sasuke headed downstairs to start making him and Sakura some breakfast. He was really hoping that he could spend the day with only Sakura; he didn't want to deal with everyone else. And besides, they were all going on twenty—some going on twenty-one. Why would Ino or anyone else for that matter throw a Christmas party? It was pathetic.

_'I really hope Sakura doesn't drag me into something like that,'_ he thought dreadfully. Then again, she hadn't seen anyone for over two and a half years, so this would be her first chance to get back together with everyone. How could he say no to her with that possibly in her mind? He sat down with a cup of eggnog with cinnamon in it. He started wondering how the day was going to turn out when Sakura came downstairs. He noticed that she was wearing a pair of his black sweatpants and one of his T-shirts.

"Oh, you don't mind if I borrow these, do you?" she asked nervously. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, its fine," he said. _'She looks kind of…cute… in my cloths,'_ he thought. He didn't know why he thought that. Maybe it was the fact that the elastic waistband on the sweats defined her waist; or that she looked hot in black; or maybe it was the fact that the cloths were his, and she was wearing them. He quickly remembered some manners.

"Do you want anything to eat?" he asked. "If you want, you can look through the fridge and pull out anything you want, I don't care." Sakura looked over at the fridge and looked through all of the food he had.

_'Why does he have so many tomatoes?'_ she wondered. She saw a cup of LITE YOGART. It was strawberry flavored. She pulled out, along with a jug of milk, and a packet of strawberries. Sasuke knew what she was thinking.

"The blender is on the shelf to your left," he informed her. She gave him a grateful smile and pulled out the blender, and made herself a strawberry smoothie, but without all of the ice. She liked her smoothies to be soft. Sasuke was watching her the whole time she was making her morning treat. 'I wonder if she knows any recipes that would involve a lot of tomatoes.' he thought, smiling to himself. Sakura saw the smile.

"What are you so cheery about?" she questioned. Sasuke turned his head downwards and blushed slightly, shaking his head in that "never mind" kind of way. After she had sat down across from him at the table, he decided to start up a conversation.

"So what did you and Ino talk about?" he asked in his usual monotone voice. Sakura took another sip of her smoothie.

"She wanted me to come to her house a little after noon to help out with the party… you know, setting up and everything. If I know Ino, she is probably going to ask about what all went on while I was away."

"Are you going to talk about it with her?" Sakura could tell there was a bit of worry in his voice. She shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess it depends on what all she asks. But you don't need to worry! Ino can tell when I feel any discomfort about a current topic." She said reassuringly. Sasuke looked at the clock.

'_10AM. and she said she didn't have to be at Ino's until sometime AFTER noon, so…'_ Sasuke slowly stood up, and put his cup in the dishwasher for later. Sakura, now finished with her drink, did the same. When she closed the dishwasher, Sasuke wrapped his arms around her from behind, trapping her arms against her sides. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, taking in her scent. And before she knew it, Sasuke had taken the two of them back up to Sasuke's room in a small puff of smoke. She was lying on the bed on her back with Sasuke holding her wrists above her head. Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"Sasuke what are you doing?" she asked. As she looked into his eyes, she then realized that even he didn't know what he was doing. As she was about to say something else, he crashed his lips down onto hers. She pulled away after a short moment and looked at him playfully.

"Is this what you call 'relaxing all day'? By seducing me into a furious make-out session that will leave you breathless because this would have been one of you first times being truly alone with a girl? Because you know what?" She quickly turned the two of them over, putting her on top of Sasuke with her holding him down on the shoulders. She gave him a sexy smirk. "I can easily make you walk out of this room feeling as though you just got out of a major battle; you will be completely out of breath by the time that I am through with you." She whispered the last part in his ear hotly. Sasuke turned them over once more, putting him in the same position that they were in the first place.

"We'll see about that, now won't we?" he said. He brought his lips down upon her once more, this time with a bit more force than before. Sakura gave out a short moan, giving Sasuke more dominance over the heated kiss. He let go of her wrists and ran his hands along her sides, feeling all of her curves. Once her hands were free, Sakura caressed Sasuke's cheek with one hand, while she stroked his chiseled chest. After a few minutes of all that **(again, i whrote this a year ago, so it sucks**!**),** Sasuke pulled away, feeling totally breathless. Sakura noticed and smirked. She was also a little out of breath.

"What *_breath*_ did I *_breath*_ tell you?" she said. Sasuke gave her one look and plopped down on the bed beside her.

_'Where did she learn to kiss like that?!'_ he thought.

"Fine," he said, "you win." Sasuke rolled over on his side; Sakura did the same. Sasuke put his arm around the girl's waist. "I really do love you, you know," he whispered.

"I know. And I am glad. And I love you, too." After a few minutes, the two fell back to sleep in each others' arms.

* * *

A couple of long hours later, Sakura slowly woke up with Sasuke having one arm around her waist, and the other lingering on the pillow next to her cheek. She slowly turned her head and looked at the clock on the other side of the room.

_'12:13 P.M.' I should be getting ready to go to Ino's,'_ she thought tiredly. She carefully unwrapped Sasuke's arm from around her and silently got out of bed. She was still wearing Sasuke's old cloths, but figured that maybe Ino would have some for her to borrow, since the cloths at her house were probably too small for her by now. As she was putting her shoes on (Sasuke took them off of her last night), she thought of leaving Sasuke a note. Sakura didn't want him to get worried. After writing a small note explaining where she was off to, she disappeared in a puff of smoke, on her way to Ino's.

Sakura reappeared in her friend's living room, which already had some decorations up. Everything else was still in boxes.

"Ino, are you here?" she called. 'Where is that girl? This is still her house, isn't it?' she thought.

Suddenly, she heard running from another room, and then a medium tall, lean girl came charging into the room. There was a broad smile on her face.

"OH MY GOSH, SAKURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed. Ino was then smothering her in a huge bear hug. She twirled Sakura around the room.

"Whoa, Ino, I'm glad to see you too, but- I NEED SOME AIR!!" Sakura yelled happily. Ino pulled back and held Sakura out at arm's length. She gave her best friend a larger smile.

"I'm sorry, but it has been way too long! I've have missed you so much! Now, let me get a good look at you now," she said, stepping back some. Ino looked Sakura up and down. "Jeez, if that is what to a person when they're in imprisonment, then sign me up! But, not with the beating, or anything. I mean, your hair is like, down to your butt; you are way more muscular, good for beating up perverts! You have really changed, Sakura! I bet Sasuke was doing anything he could to get you to fall for him, huh?! I mean, why wouldn't he, you're gorgeous!" she exclaimed. Sakura let out a laugh.

"Well, in fact, I think we are kind of together now," she said. Ino gasped.

"Oh my gosh, NOW WAY!! Are freaking serious?!? How did that happen?! What all did he do to get you?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, he said that he missed more than anything, and that he loved me. And, I kind of love him back," she replied, whispering the last part. Ino screamed. Sakura had to cover her ears a bit.

"I just knew this would happen! Getting together, you know! Because even though everyone was saying all of the B.S. and lies about you being dead and all, I kept on telling him, "She is still out there, Sasuke. Don't give up hope on her! She will come back some day!" And look at this! You are back, and he confessed his feeling towards you! AHH! This is just so awesome! I mean, all he ever did when he didn't do anything else was sit under the most beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in like, the entire village. I could tell he was thinking about you! And— wait, are those his cloths?" Sakura nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah. I woke up this morning with nothing to wear, so he let me borrow some of his cloths. I figured that the stuff that I left at my house before I left are going to be too small, so I thought maybe I could borrow some stuff from you for the time being. I mean, black isn't really my thing; it is a bit too dark."

"Yeah, I guess you're right! But you know, you do look hot in black; and I bet Sasuke was thinking that while seeing you in his cloths!"

"That would explain why he looked at me funny earlier." Ino let out an amused laugh.

"Alright, we need to start getting this place ready for the party. Do you remember the balcony upstairs?" Sakura nodded. "Well, I was thinking that we make it look all romantic and everything, and like, put mistletoe there under the doorway. Don't tell anyone this, or hint it on, but," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I think Neji is going to propose to TenTen tonight! So we need a place where he can do that!" The two girls talk about everything else that was going on in the village now days, and started in making the entire house look perfect for the party.

"Hey, Sakura, do you still sing and play guitar?" Ino asked curiously. Sakura gave her a strange look.

* * *

Sasuke rolled over to put an arm around Sakura, but there was nobody there. His eyes shot open to see that he was alone. He quickly went downstairs, in hopes of finding her there. Instead he found a note in her cursive handwriting,

_'Sasuke,_

_I have already gone to Ino's to help decorate for the party. I'll see you soon!_

_Love,_

_Sakura'_

Sasuke calmed down. He noticed how she closed the letter with the word love. This made him smile. He had killed Itatchi not long after Sakura had left, so now he was free to feel this wonderful feeling.

* * *

6:00P.M.

* * *

People were all in Ino's house in a large room with a stage with a gift for all of their friends. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji didn't buy anything for many people, but that was expected. So much had changed since she had left. Ino and Shikamaru were together; Naruto had proposed to Hinata, and were expected to marry in February; apparently, Neji had proposed to TenTen earlier in the week, but told her to keep it a secret for a while. Sakura was crowded by many people, answering many questions. They were all asking her things like, "What all did they do to you," and, "Aren't you glad you're back?" Through the last few questions, Sasuke had walked over and put his arm around Sakura's waist, making the people who didn't know they were together gasp. Shikamaru smirked, saying, "It's about time." The girls hugged Sakura, congratulating her. Ino walked onto the stage, and tapped the mike to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, now that I have everyone's attention, Sakura, TenTen, and I are going to play a little music!" The girls went on stage. Ino grabbed her hot pink bass guitar, Sakura the black lead guitar, and TenTen went to the drums. Sasuke was shocked. He never knew that Sakura could play guitar, or even sing, because she was now at the mike with Ino at the other mike. Then they started playing. Sakura and Ino were singing.

_"It's the greatest time of year!_

_And it's here, help me celebrate it!_

_With everybody here! Friends so dear, let me simply state it—_

_Joy to the world and everyone lift up your hearts and feel the love!_

_It's our favorite way to spend the holiday! Yeah!"_

INO_: There's a special kind of feeling in the air. It only happens at this time of year.  
When everyone is filled with love and cheer  
'cause that's what matters_

SAKURA_: Pretty paper boxes tied with bows  
Walking in the sun or in the snow  
We can feel the excitement growing, knowing_

BOTH_: It's the greatest time of year, and it's here  
Help me celebrate it  
With everybody here, friends so dear  
Let me simply state it  
Joy to the world and everyone  
Lift up your hearts and feel the love  
It's our favorite way, to spend the holiday  
Yeah_

SAKURA_: We can get all cozy by the fire  
Turn the music up a little higher  
I don't think that I could ever tire  
Of being together_

INO_: Decorate the tree hang mistletoe And stand by me_

BOTH_: It's a picture perfect moment captured  
Memories that we'll have after_

_It's the greatest time of year, and it's here_

_Help me celebrate it_

_With everybody here, friends so dear_

_Let me simply state it_

_Joy to the world and everyone_

_Lift up your hearts and feel the love_

_It's our favorite way, to spend the holiday_

_Yeah_

_To spend the holidays_

_It's the greatest time_

SAKURA_: It's the greatest time...of year  
It's the greatest time  
_INO_: (greatest time of year)  
_SAKURA_: (time to celebrate)  
_INO_: (and it's our favorite time)_

INO_: It's the greatest time of year, and it's here_

_Help me celebrate it_

BOTH_: With everybody here, friends so dear_

_Let me simply state it_

_Joy to the world_

_Joy to the world_

_Joy to the world!!_

Sakura took a sort of guitar solo, with TenTen still on the drums_._

_It's the greatest time of year, and it's here_

_Help me celebrate it_

_With everybody here, friends so dear_

_Let me simply state it_

_Joy to the world and everyone_

_Lift up your hearts and feel the love_

_It's our favorite way, to spend the holiday_

The music creatively faded, and everyone was cheering for the band's performance. The three girls lined up on the stage and bowed together, bringing on more of applause. The girls jumped off the stage and went off to do their own thing. Sakura went to the table with snacks and different drinks. As she was drinking a cup of fruit punch, a pair of arms wound themselves around her

stomach pulled her close to them.

"You were amazing up there," Sasuke whispered to her hotly in the ear. Sakura giggled while blushing lightly. Sakura motioned for him to follow her as she led him up to the balcony. As they were outside away from all of the noise, Sasuke had that "WTF?" look of his face seeing the romantic decorations everywhere. Sakura looked at him and laughed.

"Ino didn't know that Neji had already proposed to TenTen, so she set this entire setting up so that he would get the chance to tonight, but now there is no use for all of this, really."

"It's a bit much," Sasuke mumbled. Sakura walked over to the edge and leaned against the railing, looking over the village. Sasuke watched her watched her. Although it was dark out, and it was freezing cold, the moonlight was hitting her face just right, and the snow was slowly falling around her perfectly as if she were the ultimate center of the entire universe. To save time for endless description, Sasuke believed that she looked like a winter goddess.

He walked over and stood beside her, still secretly admiring her beauty.

"It really is beautiful out here," Sakura murmured. Sasuke turned his head completely toward her.

"Yes………you are," he said, smiling. She looked at him; he was smiling. She smiled back.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked curiously. Sasuke looked away, then back at Sakura. His nerves were obviously getting the better of him.

"Hey, um, Sakura? There's been something I've been meaning to say all night—" suddenly, Ino burst through the balcony doors.

"Sakura, you gotta see this! Neji and Naruto had this dare, and-" she noticed Sasuke. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," she said apologetically, and quickly went back inside. Sakura looked at Sasuke, and noticed his anger rising.

"So…..Sasuke…..what were you going to say?" she said slowly. Sasuke only shook his head, and started off for the door, but Sakura caught him by the wrist. "Sasuke, it's okay, just say it and be done with it." Sasuke sighed. He stood in front of her, pulling out a cube box from his pocket. Then, he got down on one knee. Sakura's eyes widened, letting out a small gasp.

"Sakura, will you marry me?" he proposed softly. Sakura looked at him. She couldn't believe it. She knew he loved her, but…. Sakura never thought he would be one for commitment. She was just so shocked; she almost forgot that he was waiting for an answer.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him fiercely. After a moment of being kissed, Sasuke pulled back and stared at her.

"Does that mean yes?" He was still very nervous. Sakura, now crying, nodded her head with a smile on her face. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her just as passionately, smirking.

'The best Christmas ever…..' they both thought.


End file.
